I came across the advert below for a job as Marketing Manager, and I found two things very interesting. One, that sustainability is seen as an explicit concern of /for the marketing manager. This is not an advert for a recycling company, or electric cars, or any other industry whose image is tied up with environmental concerns. Rather, it is for a training company in the hospitality industry. So, I was a bit surprised (yet, happy) to see an explicit connection between sustainability and marketing.

Two, that not only is the marketing manager expected to have experience of digital communication and to have knowledge of digital analytical tools, but also that it is an advantage if the applicant can demonstrate these skills and knowledge via their own social media feeds.

Some people feel that it is creepy for companies to search their candidates’ online presence, but I feel that it is common sense. Hiring is an expensive and time-consuming exercise, that represents two big risks: 1) hiring someone unsuitable, and 2) failing to spot someone great. So, if you can use social media to show off your skills, experience and passion, why waste the opportunity?

Here is the advert (emphasis added by me):

[Name of company] seeks dynamic and experienced Marketing Manager

[Paragraph about the company]

[Name of company] is looking for a dynamic and experienced Marketing Manager with knowledge of [industry] and an interest in sustainability to extend our marketing activities and reach new audiences.

(…)

The ideal Marketing Manager will:

currently be a Marketing Manager or experienced Marketing Executive within a relevant industry

have an interest in [industry]

have an interest in sustainability or be keen to learn about sustainability

have practical experience of carrying out all aspects of marketing activity. This role is very hands-on and you will be executing all elements of projects from start to finish.

be a confident communicator with excellent written skills and a creative copywriter

be experienced in digital communication, including creating mailers, regularly interacting on social media, forming partnerships with other brands and much more

have a practical understanding of Google Analytics, AdWords, social advertising and SEO

have a proven track record in thinking strategically and acting commercially

have experience in communicating with clients, media and PR agents and building relationships to bring in new business

have sharp attention to detail

be proactive with a can-do attitude with the ability to multi task

be honest, open and have integrity

be able to set and achieve goals

be happy to work autonomously

To apply, email CV to [e-mail address]. If you have a public Instagram or Twitter profile that is relevant please include your handle.

Bumping into customer insight

Business ideas can come from many sources: via extensive market research; based on our own experience; and, sometimes, by luck. Spotify’s recent move into podcasts is an example of the latter, as described in the episode “Thanksgiving in Stockholm”, of season 9 of the Start-Up podcast.

Spotify started in 2008 because their founders loved music, and all its initial growth was due to music. For most of its existence, podcasts weren’t even on the radar of either Spotify’s founders or its management team. At some point, someone noticed that Spotify’s usage was growing specially quickly in Germany, and, when the company investigated why, they realised that:

“In Germany, the record companies are actually very, very large in audio books. All of a sudden, we started getting lots of audio books on the service, as well, because people uploaded these as music files. We became one of the biggest book providers in like of all of Germany just by virtue of having these audio books in the platform.” (minute 4 onwards)

When Spotify investigated further, the company learned that users were consuming significant amounts of word-based audio files – not just audio books, but also radio shows and, of course, podcasts. And, as they say, the rest is history.

Cool thesaurus tool

I came across this tool: OneLook. It’s a thesaurus, but with a difference: we can search words by using other others like a regular thesaurus, or using descriptions. For instance, I can enter ‘sunset’ to get synonyms like ‘sundown’ or antonyms like ‘sunrise’ and ‘dawn’.

Or I can also enter ‘sun at the end of the day’, to get ‘sunset’ and ‘sundown’.

It’s half-term. So, this week, I am looking forward to not having to worry about school runs. And you, what are you looking for, this week?